Trainer Bob Arsenault keeps close watch on his fighters at the American Athletic Association boxing gym in Bay City. After 50 years in the fight game, Arsenault is headiing into the Bay County Sports Hall of Fame.

BAY CITY, MI – Bob Arsenault got into boxing so he could
knock people on their butts.

He stayed in it to help pick them up.

In a sport that can be rough and rugged yet inspirational
and educational all at the same time, Bob Arsenault has come to personify
boxing in Bay City.

"I'm a sentimental old fool, but that don't mean I ain't
tough," he said. "Don't get that wrong."

After 50 years in the fight game, evolving from a tough-nut
boxer to a tough-love trainer, Arsenault is being recognized for his wide-ranging
impact with induction to the Bay County Sports Hall of Fame. He joins the 2012
class that is being honored Oct. 7 at the DoubleTree hotel and conference
center.

The head trainer at the American Athletic Association boxing
gym, Arsenault guides a team of 12-25 boxers as they train and compete in
Golden Gloves-style amateur boxing. The 68-year-old Bay City native works year-round
– strictly as a volunteer -- with fighters of all ages, many of them facing
hardships that have gotten them down in life.

"Some of them walk through those doors, and they don't have
a lot," he said. "But boxing brings out self worth and self esteem. If you
believe in yourself, at the end of the day there will be fruition.

"I'm a big believer in perseverance. If you fall, you try
again. There's a time to retreat, but champions never quit."

Arsenault, who worked in the corner of Murray Sutherland
when he won the IBF world middleweight championship in 1984, has crossed paths
with the likes of Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard, Leon Spinks and Larry Holmes
on his boxing travels. But he prefers the grassroots level, where he helps
introduce the sweet science to a new generation of boxers.

"He can be as gentle as a lamb or as hard as a lion, and
that's what it takes," said Art Dore, his longtime friend and fellow boxing aficionado.
"And these young kids he's working with really appreciate it. They respect him –
and he makes them respect him.

"He drives them around the state for boxing shows and gives
them opportunities they never would have had. And he does it because he wants
to do it. He's not just going through the motions, he cares."

Arsenault first got into boxing at age 16 when his family
moved from Bay City to Pinconning, which had no high school wrestling team. He
used to hitchhike from Pinconning to Bangor Township to train for Golden Gloves
competition.

"I lost my first fight," he said. "They had a picture in the
paper – my feet were up in the air and
my hand was down on the mat... that's not good.

"But that's when I
found out that I was blessed with a little speed, and I could take some punches
and land a couple more."

Arsenault would post a 38-5 record, winning the Golden
Gloves regional title four times, capturing the AAU light heavyweight state
championship in 1968 and earning a sparring gig with lightweight world champion
Kenny Lane.

"He wasn't the greatest boxer in the world, but he was my
Raging Bull," said Dean Oswald, who trained and coached with Arsenault. "He was
a good, tough fighter and he always came to do the show."

The Toughman Contest would keep Arsenault in the ring, first
as a contestant who fought in the World Toughman Championship at the Pontiac
Silverdome in 1979, then as a promoter for the event across the nation.

He also was a committed coach, directing the Pinconning
Boxing Team for 10 seasons before taking over at Greater Bay Boxing then the
American Athletic Association in Bay City. He trained a handful of boxers who
turned professional, including his son Branden, as well as 11 Golden Gloves
state champions in the past 10 years.

An appointed member of the board of governors for the Michigan
Association of USA Boxing, he was named Golden Gloves Coach of the Year for
Michigan this spring.

"Like any coach, I'd love to get kids with height, weight,
coordination and talent," he said. "But I also love the ones without those
attributes who work their tails off and win with heart.

"If you're a champion in the ring, you're going to be a
champion in life."

To purchase tickets for the Bay County Sports Hall of Fame banquet Oct. 7, contact Bob Darbee at 989-714-5830 or rdarbee464@gmail.com. Cost is $35 per person.

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